The US will lift travel restrictions on eight southern African countries that it imposed to try to blunt the spread of the Covid-19's Omicron variant, the White House has announced, according to AP.

The November 29 ban barred nearly all non-US citizens who had recently been in South Africa, Botswana, Eswatini, Namibia, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe.

The restrictions will be lifted on New Year's Eve.

White House spokesperson Kevin Munoz said on Twitter that the decision was recommended by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.

Munoz said the temporary travel bans bought scientists necessary time to study the new virus variant and conclude that the current vaccinations are effective in blunting its impact.